Strands Of Fate
by G San
Summary: A rouge doctor, an artifical girl with a human heart, and the rising battle that will make the crusades seem like a faint dream.


Chapter 1: The Good Doctor

A strange figure wandered through the streets of Victory, casting a huge shadow in the glow of the streetlamps.

Indeed, standing at 9'3" and sporting a simple paper bag for a mask, Faust stood out in any crowd. Not that there was much of a crowd – the nighttime was heavy and black, punctuated only by the flickering streetlamps and occasional drops of rain.

He strode quietly down the street, carrying scalpel and medical kit under one arm and attempting to open his umbrella with the other as the rain picked up.

Glancing at occasional signs, the rouge physician attempted to decide on a place to settle down for the night. It had been a long day of travel. _But a doctor's work is never done_… Faust reminded himself as he studied a sign for yet another pub, raucous noises coming within.

The prospects of staying in Victory seemed grim. Having been founded the day after the official end of the Crusades, much thought was put into stable economy, and much less on tourism.

Faust whistled slightly at a sudden flash of lightning, and cast back up the street, hoping that he might have missed an inn sign somewhere.

"No such luck. But where to now, then? Ah, wait a minute, what's this?"

Faust walked down the street some more, coming to a sign well camouflaged behind the rather flamboyant sign of a large drinking hall.

"Victory Inn… Well, worth a shot. Beats sleeping out in the rain." Faust was about to enter when a movement father off down the street from him caught his attention.

Faust was about to pass it off to water getting in his sole eye cutout, when it came again, and he picked up the unmistakable scent of blood, muted by the ever increasing rain though it was.

He dropped his umbrella and rushed over, subconsciously reading his scalpel if trouble should arise.

As he drew nearer, the limping figure of a girl, no more than 16 became well apparent. She had blood red hair, her eyes where ringed by deep shadows, it seemed she had not slept in weeks. She was wrapped in bloodstained bandages, save for a pair of worn and beaten white shorts. But most striking was the fact she had a key jammed squarely through her head, and she seemed to be none the worse for it.

As Faust kneeled to her height, she let out a slight gurgle, as if whatever incredible force that had pushed her forward was finally spent, and tripped, falling forward.

Faust caught her and dropped his oversized scalpel, turning her upward, and looking her over for severe injuries.

She was badly injured in several places; she had a large gash on her abdomen, and seemed burned in several places. Her eyes lay unfocused, not really even fully seeing Faust.

She raised her hand slightly, and whispered, almost unintelligibly "Para...Celsus…." before she blacked out and ceased to move.

"Miss? Are you alright? Young Miss?" Faust said loudly, and hurriedly felt for a pulse breathing a slight sigh of relief when he found one. Faint, yes. Abnormal, yes. But a pulse nonetheless.

He grabbed his scalpel and clenched it in his teeth, then picked her up gently and strode quickly to the inn, attempting to shield her from the nighttime rain.

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Despite the initial… suspicions of the innkeeper, Faust finally managed to secure a room, and immediately began to treat his newfound patient.

Faust stayed in Victory far many more days than he had planned, looking after his mysterious charge. For three days after he had first found her, she was completely comatose, making no noise or sign of life beyond her pulse and quiet breathing.

Faust spent little time outside his room, taking the meager room service and sleeping rarely if at all. The hours stretched on, and Faust thought more than once about leaving the girl in the city with a local doctor and moving on, but each time his morals caught up with him and he convinced himself to wait it out, and help this girl in any way he could.

_After all_, he mused, _what kind of doctor abandons a patient in need?_

On the fourth day after finding her, his patience was rewarded as she spoke for the first time, although she was still unconscious.

It was a speech of a nightmare, feverish and incoherent, but Faust listened nonetheless.

The blinds of the room where drawn, and she clutched at them madly. "You…You won't take him away from me!...I won't let you!...Damn…DAMN YOU!" She screamed loudly, and Faust put a quiet hand on her shoulder, channeling some of his occult energy into her to calm her.

The slight use of magic worked far stronger than Faust had intended, knocking her dead out for several hours.

It was two more days and several suspicious looks from the innkeeper later that the girl awoke.

Faust was sipping quietly at a cup of Earl Grey tea, musing that "sewer water in a cup would pass for tea in this city" when suddenly his charge shot stock straight up in bed.

She looked around wildly, and, finding that she had no idea where she was, shrunk under the covers, shaking visibly.

Faust stood and quickly held his head in agitation and pain due to the low ceiling. He carefully walked over to the bed and kneeled by the side.

"You need not be afraid, Miss. You're safe here. You where in bad shape, but you're ok now."

She eyed him suspiciously and said nothing.

"I'm Dr. Faust. I treated your injuries… Tell me miss, who are you?"

The girl looked away for a moment.

"My name… Is A.B.A."

Faust tilted his head. "Abba?"

She nodded. "Close enough… Doctor...?"

"Faust. Dr. Faust."

She nodded slightly, her red bangs waving back and forth.

"T-Thank you doctor. But I must go now… I need to find someone."

She attempted to get out of bed, but flinched, and Faust moved to try to ease her back into it.

"You mustn't exert yourself. You have suffered extreme injury and should stay in bed."

Anger flashed in her cold silver eyes. "No… I must rescue Paracelsus." She pushed forward with surprising strength, pushing Faust back.

Taking this surprise in stride, Faust watched as she got out of bed and stood on unsteady feet. She made for the door, but in a single movement of his unnaturally long legs, Faust impeded her progress once more.

"You obviously have greater stamina than I expected, but please, it's night outside. You should rest, and search for this person tomorrow."

"I…I don't need to sleep. Please doctor, I need to find Paracelsus... Who knows what that woman in red has done with him?"

Faust stopped dead. "A woman in red? Did she have a guitar?"

A.B.A. Was somewhat taken aback by his sudden shift in questioning. "What's a guitar?"

Faust rubbed the back of his neck. _Does she have amnesia? Or does she honestly not know?_ "It's a stringed instrument... About this big?" Faust made a vague gesture.

A.B.A. nodded. "Yes… I think so." Urgency returned to her voice. "Please Doctor, let me go!"

Faust rubbed his chin through his bag. "Very well. On one condition."

"Yes?"

"I go with you."

A.B.A. looked at him strangely. "Why?"

Faust was already gathering his rather Spartan possessions. "Firstly, because I am a doctor and must see to it that you have made a full recovery. And, secondly…."

A dangerous glint came to the fluorescent eye glowing through the bag's single eye hole. "I have business to finish with this… "Woman in Red.""

A.B.A. thought for a moment, and then finally nodded. "Very well, Dr. I like traveling with company anyway…"

Although she couldn't see it, Faust grinned. "Don't we all…"

As Faust paid the innkeeper, A.B.A. was already on her way well outside.

As Faust dropped the last coin in payment, he heard someone scream outside, and instinctively whipped his neck around in a 180 degree turn, his occult energies allowing the bones in his neck to twist like putty.

Oblivious to the innkeeper turning white as a sheet, Faust rushed outside, to see A.B.A. surrounded in a mass of figures, all clothed in the official uniform of the International Police Force.

But something was wrong. The 'Police' all had blonde hair, and not a one of them was generating any spirit. _Machines?_ Faust thought as he drew his scalpel.

His thoughts where confirmed when one of the 'police' clanked out in a mechanical voice… "SUBJECT-A.B.A.-TAGGED-FOR-CAPRTURE-BZZZT-AND INTERROGATION-DUE-TO-ARTIFACT-IN-POSESSION. ACTIVATING-BZZAP-ATTACK-PROTO-BZZZAAZZ…." The machine died as the scalpel point punched through it.

_A doctor's work is never done…_

End of Chapter 1

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So, yes, first chapter! I apologize if it's a bit slow, but I need to set the stage for the coolness to come! Stick with me!

Please, any and all feedback is welcome, as any ideas on how to improve my work are the best and most I can ask of anyone.

All things Guilty Gear are properties of their respective owners.


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